Ripped Fuel - Anyone use?

kjellquist said:

Anyone used this product? I am 5'11" approx. 170lbs and no matter what I can't get rid of that last little ring of fat around the waist. I am wondering if something like this may help. Of course, this product is now Ephedra-free.

Back a couple of years ago when I was young and dumb and was lifting all of the time, I used it (with Ephedra at the time) as a pre-workout boost. Can't say that I lost weight with it since I didn't change any other habit of mine - i.e. caloric intake. It may assist in raising your metabolism slightly but you need to make other dietary and activity changes regardless.

I am shameful to admit I am a self proclaimed expert on the Ripped fuel and stacker type products. I am 5' 10" and about 170 lbs and have been a competitive athlete since HS but have always had a ring around my belly button. I have a very slim figure-29inch waste and Lineman friends would ask why i didnt have the washboard abs. I figured D-1 college football would take care of that. Forty hours a week of FB didnt help.

SO I began using ripped fuel(the real stuff w/ ephedra) and while it gave a great boost for workouts it never got rid of that ring(thats what I call it). As I have matured(admittidly only slight) I have been very careful of what I have been eating while maintaining an active lifestyle and that has been where I have seen the greatest improvements. I eat small meals 5 times a day and spend 6hrs a week weight training along with about 8-10 hours of cardio work a week. While I am not fully satisfied with my body it is buy far the most fit I have every been including during years when I was competitive athletics.

A note for a while I was taking 1-2 ripped fuel a day and working out hard but never got rid of the little belly. It probably helped combat my lack of cardio at the time as well as my very poor dietary habits-that includs heavy drinking.

Another reason I would steer you away is that you cannot take it forever so when you do stop your body will have to readjust to lack of stimulants. I am currently still dealing with a metablism that depened upon the boost of the pills.

-mike

kjellquist said:

Anyone used this product? I am 5'11" approx. 170lbs and no matter what I can't get rid of that last little ring of fat around the waist. I am wondering if something like this may help. Of course, this product is now Ephedra-free.

Don't waste your time. There is no magic pill (well, maybe EPO or blood doping to improve performance) to the body you want. It just takes work. Look into your nutrition and you can certainly find things that you can remove I'm sure. That on top of an appropriate training program will give you the results you want. 🙂

Orange Fish said:

Don't waste your time. There is no magic pill

amen to that statement

kjellquist, Not knowing what type of nutrition program you follow or your age it is hard to tell what is the problem.

A couple of examples: (there can be many more factors)

Some people make such an effort to clean out their diet that they try to totally eliminate fat calories. All fat calories. Which is not good. It may work for a number of weeks with good results, but adding in fats from flax seed, flax seed oil, fish oil or a combination of other omega type fats can actually be beneficial is continuing the leaning out process.

Age is another factor. For some males approaching their 40's their natural testosterone levels begin to drop which can increase adipose tissue around the waist line or make it all the harder to eliminate.

As far as supplements such as ripped fuel they can offer only minimal help at best. These type of supplements originally derived from ECA (ephedra, caffiene and asprin). These three combined caused thermogenic effects, but only then it had to be cycled for benefits. Usually taken 2 days on and 2 days off to keep the body from building a resistance or tolerance to the chemicals. When bodybuilders first starting taking this combination back in the early 90's there was another even better form, but it was a controlled substance and was usually smuggled in from Mexico or other countries and that was Clenbuterol which was cycled in the same manner. After taking Clenbuterol or ECA you could feel the thermogenic effect kick in with sweating and raised body temps.

Now days these supplements are purely marketing hype. I do take them myself, but not for this effect. I just don't drink coffee so I take them only for the caffiene and the bitter orange (synepherine) opens my sinuses. The stimulation from the caffiene to wake me up has more effect than the supposed thermogenic effect. I feel more alive while doing early morning cardio.

A word of caution. These type of supplements can cause an imbalance in elctrolytes so the user may have to counter the effects. In my case I end up taking additional supplements to balance the electrolytes to prevent muscle strains/tears and cramps. Also I have known people that have not tolerated the drug or took too much and died from heart failure. I only take a light dose once in the morning just to help me wake up and get to the gym.

gssiweb.comRevisedEphedrine.cfmOpen ↗

ncbi.nlm.nih.govquery.fcgiOpen ↗

ajpregu.physiology.orgR112Open ↗

A very good read here (see page 19 & 20 for ECA information and page 22 for non ephedra type)

sportsnutritionsociety.orgKreider%20et%20al%20SNRJ%201 1 1 44 2004.pdfOpen ↗

One correction to my previous post about ECA (ephedra, caffeine & asprin) should be ephedrine, caffiene & asprin.

Ephedra is the herbal version and has been stated "not" (or undetermined in labratory tests) to be as effective as the labratory version of ephedrine.